Warren Mayor James Fouts on fall: I was bleeding profusely'

Warren Mayor James Fouts returned to his office Wednesday afternoon, a day earlier than expected and just hours after spending a night in a hospital for treatment of a head injury he suffered during a fall.

Fouts said he was injured when he fell while jogging at approximately 7 a.m. Tuesday on a sidewalk along Ryan Road, between 11 Mile and 12 Mile roads. He believes he hit an icy bump along one of his regular morning jogging routes.

The mayor said he ran home and thought he felt water. He wasn’t.

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“I was bleeding profusely,” he said.

Fouts showered and mistakenly thought he had the bleeding under control. After another shower and still unable to stop the blood, he drove to St. John Macomb-Oakland Hospital in Madison Heights.

After receiving nine stitches to his forehead and undergoing a CAT-scan that revealed some mild bleeding in the brain, doctors wanted to transfer him to Providence Hospital. But he preferred going to William Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak.

“I was going to drive but they wouldn’t let me,” said Fouts, 71, who was taken by ambulance to the Beaumont emergency room.

He underwent another series of CAT-scans and was held overnight Tuesday for observation. He said he was conscious throughout the incident and during treatment.

“They said the chances are this is moderate and will dissipate with time,” he said from his office Wednesday afternoon. He said he has declined to take any pain-killers for a lingering slight headache and swelling of his face.

Despite cancelling a regularly scheduled meeting of his appointed department heads Tuesday, the mayor said he remained in contact with his staff, including declaring a snow emergency Tuesday.

An avid jogger since high school, the injury is not the first Fouts has suffered while running.

On Christmas 2008, he suffered fractures to two ribs and an arm injury when he slipped on ice while jogging on Christmas 2008. He drove himself to a hospital for treatment.

A few years prior to that, he injured a leg while jogging near his home. He said he’s been hit by a car twice, several years ago.

Fouts added he may avoid running in the pre-dawn hours.

“I’ll still run, but will probably restrict my running to before dinner or later daylight hours,” he said.